Components of The Math Workshop

Rotations and Strands | Math Manipulatives | The Bulletin Board Envelope
The Binder | Teacher Directions and Answer Keys

Rotations and Strands
The Math Workshop uses the term rotations throughout the program. These rotations are cycles used through out the year. There are 10 rotations for the entire school year found in each level. A rotation is designed to last 4 weeks. Time management in The Math Workshop is flexible and is determined by the teacher. At the top of each hand-out there is a label that lists the strand being worked on, and the rotation number. This is to help teachers find other components in other levels of The Math Workshop as well as easy access to answer keys.
There are 12 strands found in the 3rd - 5th grade program and 13 strands in the Kinder-2nd grade program. The strand activities were developed in correlation with the national standards and are common in many textbooks. Students work on activities in every strand during a rotation. There is ample opportunity for students to work an activity over and over getting more practice with the skill. Teachers use the activities as an assessment of student needs and then develop small group and individual instruction to support those needs. Each strand’s activities look very similar throughout all ten rotations. Generally, the only change through out all rotations and levels would be numbers or pictures referenced on the activity sheets. Skills and the format of the hand-outs remain constant and developmentally appropriate for each grade level. This allows a student to practice an important skill many times, while the teacher moves on with whole group instruction.

Math Manipulatives

It is important that a classroom have several types of math manipulatives for The Math Workshop to help children gain solid understandings of mathematical concepts. The Math Workshop uses common manipulatives that found in most classroom. A classroom incorporating The Math Workshop would need the following manipulatives in order to complete the activities:

Kindergarten
Order # Manipulative Item Price

04-517 Teddy Bear counters $14.95
04-518 Snap cubes (set of 100) $8.25
04-527 Snap cubes (set of 500) $38.95
04-519 Pattern Blocks (250) $14.95
04-520 Color Tiles (set of 400) $13.50
04-522 Link’N’Learn Links (set of 500) $11.25
04-514 Teacher Demo Clocks (recommended) $13.50
04-515 Student Clocks, set of 6 (recommended) $7.95
04-523 DeluxeCoin Stamps $7.95
04-516 Plastic coins (recommended) $27.95
04-524 Primary Geometric Solids $21.95
04-513 Primary Balance Scale $10.50
04-509 Liquid Measurement Set $21.50
04-512 Measuring Tape (recommended) $.90 each
04-502 Estimation Jars (set of 3) $9.95

1st Grade and 2nd Grade
04-519 Pattern Blocks (250) $14.95
04-514 Teacher Demo Clocks (recommended) $13.50
04-515 Student Clocks, set of 6 (recommended) $7.95
04-523 Deluxe Coin Stamps $7.95
04-516 Plastic coins (recommended) $27.95
04-510 Base 10 Blocks (starter set) $16.45
04-524 Primary Geometric Solids $21.95
04-513 Primary Balance Scale $10.50
04-509 Liquid Measurement Set $21.50
04-512 Measuring Tape (recommended) $.90 each
04-502 Estimation Jars (set of 3) $9.95

3rd Grade, 4th Grade and 5th Grade
04-519 Pattern Blocks (250) $14.95
04-511 Calculators (recommended) $4.50
04-510 Base 10 Blocks (starter set) $16.45
04-507 Fraction Circles (plastic) $4.75
04-508 Fraction Circles (foam) $2.95
04-503 Geometric Solids $10.50
04-525 Geoboards, (set of 5) $14.95 (4th and 5th only)
04-504 Platform Scale $10.50
04-509 Liquid Measurement Set $21.50
04-512 Measuring Tape (recommended) $.90 each
04-521 Tangrams (plastic) $2.95
04-506 Tangrams (foam, set of four) $2.95
04-514 Teacher Demo Clocks (recommended) $13.50
04-515 Student Clocks, set of 6 (recommended) $7.95
04-516 Plastic coins (recommended) $27.95

*Prices do not include tax or shipping*

The Bulletin Board Envelope
The Math Workshop incorporates posters that are posted in the classroom so students can have access during work time. The items for the bulletin board are found in the bulletin board envelope. The envelope contains posters of geometrical shapes, fractional pictures, number sentences, clocks and other resources students will need to use in order to work through an activity. Each rotation has a set of different posters so that the number or pictures referenced in the activity sheets change the value the students are working with. The teacher will change these items out every 4-6 weeks as needed. The student resources provide support to students with vocabulary, spelling and concepts. These pages can be put up on the bulletin board for students to use during work times or copied for each student to have in their own math folder.

The Binder
Each level of The Math Workshop comes with a binder containing all the hand-outs needed for a year. The hand-outs are grouped by rotation. To reach the independent learning levels of all students, teachers are encouraged to use more than one level for The Math Workshop. All levels work together to teach national standards and skills. When working at a grade level above or below, students would be working on the same concepts, just at a more developmentally appropriate level. This is another way that The Math Workshop works to improve the academic achievement of the students. Teachers can copy the different levels on different colored paper, making it easier for students to identify which activity is appropriate.

The activities are designed for students to do independently. The activities should be taught and modeled before the students can be expected to work independently. Most of the skills The Math Workshop focuses on, are skills that are not easy to reintroduce after a unit has been taught on that skill (such as Fractions or Data Analysis). They are basic skills that textbooks don’t re-visit except at review and test time. The Math Workshop uses end of the year standards for each level so that these skills can be developed through practice and repetition. The activities are not designed as busy work, but to enhance skill or the concepts being taught with the regular math curriculum.

Teacher Directions and Answer Keys
Teacher directions with specific instruction on how to teach an activity are included in The Math Workshop program. During the first rotation of The Math Workshop, teachers are teaching students the activities, where to find manipulatives for each activity, and how to work independently. The first rotation is an extremely important piece of The Math Workshop program. By spending the extra time using the first rotation as a whole group teaching time and directing students how to work independently, teachers will be developing a strong foundation for the students in order to maximize the benefits that are offered by The Math Workshop activities. Answer keys are also provided for each level and for each rotation. Some of the activities will have varied answers, and are not included. It is important to manage the work done by the students during math time so that teachers can use the activities as assessments. Answer keys help the teacher manage this important assessment piece. The Teacher's spiral also includes an assessment guide that provides a graphic organizer allowing the teacher to plan groups based on the standards and skills related to each activity.